Here and Now
by BettyHall223
Summary: After a horrific accident, Jack and Sam's relationship is tested.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended._

Sam left the Mountain and got into her car, thinking about SG-1's last mission that they had just returned from a few hours ago. Running into some trouble, they had been off-world longer than they had planned, but the team had returned safely to Earth. She buckled her seatbelt, glad to be getting away from her job for awhile.

After pulling out of the parking space she turned on the radio. A song came on and she listened to the lyrics, a song about missing someone far away and she thought about the distance between herself and Jack.

Upon arriving at their house, she glanced through the mail and recognized Jack's handwriting on an envelope.

After she and Jack had married, she found out that her husband had a romantic side. He had sent her a different card every week. Sometimes they were funny and sometimes they were just to let her know that she was in his thoughts. Sometimes they were like this one, telling her how much she meant to him.

Going inside and closing the door, she opened the envelope, pulled out the card and tears stung her eyes as she read the verse.

As she sat down on the sofa, her phone rang so she sniffed back the tears and answered.

"Hello."

"Sam?"

"Hi, Jack" she whispered and he heard her voice break.

"What's wrong?"

"I got your card."

"If I had known it was going to upset you I wouldn't have sent it."

"No, no, it's really sweet. I was listening to a song on the way home that reminded me of how far apart we are and then I get here and find your card and . . . I just miss you so much."

"I miss you too. I wish I were there to give you a hug."

"I wish you were here too."

They had spent a few days at his cabin between the time he had left the SGC and when he had started his new position in Washington. After confessing their feelings for each other, they wanted to start a life together. She apologized to Jack for getting engaged to Pete and Jack told her that Kerry had realized his feelings for her and had encouraged him to do something about their relationship. Jack had proposed and they had quickly gotten married in a simple ceremony before a justice of the peace, during the short time that Sam was not under Jack's command. After the ceremony, they called Daniel and Teal'c to tell them the happy news and word spread fast throughout Stargate Command. Jack called Cassie and General Hammond to let them know. Sam called Mark and he was most anxious to meet his new brother-in-law.

They agreed that whenever their schedules permitted, they would have another wedding with their family and friends.

Being apart was turning out to be really hard. They had promised each other that they would not go more than a month without being together, but something always came up. Either Sam was stuck off-world or Jack was busy in meetings with the President or Joint Chiefs. It had now been two months since they had married and Jack had started his new job. They talked on the phone every day when Sam was on Earth and e-mailed each other, but it wasn't the same as being together. The situation was making both of them miserable.

Sam wiped her eyes. "How are you?"

"Really tired. I just needed to hear your voice and know that there is someone in my life that keeps me sane."

She sat back on the sofa and took off her shoes. "Is it that bad?"

"It's just so different from running the SGC, bigger budgets and bigger egos. There are so many things to deal with and I can't keep going at this pace."

"Any idea when you can get away?"

"I'll be home this Friday."

Sam smiled. "Great!"

"I told the President I need a break and he agreed. I wanted to ask if you have ever met General Norman Grant."

"I've never met him, but I know who he is. I would see him occasionally when I was at the Pentagon. Why?"

"I ran into him the other day. We served in the Gulf together and he retired recently. He and his wife live here in Washington but they have a vacation home in the Springs. He owns his own plane and they're flying out there this weekend to stay a few weeks. He offered to let me come with them. We should arrive around 1500. Do you think you could meet us at the airport?"

"General Landry told the team that we deserve some time off so I'll ask. I don't think it will be a problem."

"Good. I won't have to catch a flight back until Tuesday afternoon so we'll have a long weekend together."

Sam smiled. "Sounds so good. Can we stay here in the house and shut out the world?"

"If I have my way, yes. It'll be good to have some private time, just the two of us."

They talked awhile longer and both reluctantly ended the call so they could get some much needed rest.

Sam took the card into the bedroom, placed it on the nightstand and looked at it one last time before getting into bed. She wrapped her arms around a pillow, wishing Jack was there beside her as she turned off the lamp and tried to sleep.

************

Friday could not come soon enough. Sam had purposely stayed as busy as possible to make the time go faster and she was finally on her way to pick up Jack.

He had called the night before to tell her that everything was set with General Grant and he would see her soon. General Landry had given her time off and she didn't have to report back to work until Wednesday morning.

Sam arrived at the airport an hour before the plane was scheduled to land. She knew she was early but was anxious to see her husband.

************

Jack sat in the co-pilot's seat as Norman flew the plane. Mrs. Grant had told Jack to ride in the front with Norman so they could chat while she sat behind them and read a book.

"So, Jack, you said you were recently married. Tell me about your wife."

"Her name is Dr. Samantha Carter O'Neill but everyone calls her Sam. She's a Lieutenant Colonel. We worked together at NORAD."

Norman glanced at Jack. "She wouldn't be related to Jacob Carter would she?"

"Yes. He was her dad."

"Was?"

Jack nodded his head. "Jacob died a few months ago."

"I didn't know that. How did he die?"

"Cancer."

"Oh, that's too bad. I worked with Jacob several times. Good man and excellent officer."

"Yes, he was."

They chatted as they flew and were now getting closer to the airport when they heard a noise that sounded like a car backfiring.

"What was that?" Mrs. Grant asked.

Norman looked down at the instrument panel. "I don't know but we're losing altitude."

They heard the sound again.

Jack looked out the side window. "We're losing fuel and there are flames coming from the engine."

Norman glanced out the window to his left. "Look for a clearing in the trees. We're not close to the airport yet." Norman picked up the radio. "Mayday! Mayday! Come in please!"

"This is Mike Gordon. I'm an air traffic controller at the Colorado Springs Airport. I have you on radar. Please state the problem and . . ."

"Come in! Come in!" Norman yelled but there was no further response.

They looked frantically out the windows to see if there was a place to land but all they saw were trees.

"Make sure your seatbelts are secure!" Norman instructed.

The plane began to shake violently just as the wing fell off, taking the engine with it.

"I can't hold it steady any longer! We're going down!" Norman yelled.

The plane came faster and faster toward the ground and Norman did everything possible to hold the plane steady. They suddenly felt the plane skim the top of the trees and felt the impact as a tree slammed into the windshield on Norman's side. He threw up his arms to protect himself as the windshield popped and blew away from its casing. The plane hit more trees and tore off the other wing as the plane toppled end over end, finally coming to a stop and bursting into flames.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

It was now 15:30 as Sam stood by the window watching the planes coming and going.

Another twenty minutes passed and she was beginning to get nervous as she noticed two helicopters fly over side by side.

'Calm down, Sam. Jack is okay. Jack is okay' she tried to reassure herself.

************

Jack didn't know how long he had been unconscious. Feeling confused, he wasn't sure where he was as he tried to open his eyes and felt blood running down his forehead. He was having trouble breathing as he tried lifting his left shoulder and arm but he couldn't feel them. He could feel his right arm and tried to move it but it hurt too much. Slowly the events of what happened became clear and he forced his eyes open. There were trees all around and he could smell smoke and fuel. The seat that he'd apparently been sitting in was now lying on its side, several feet away, as he realized the seatbelt had broken on impact and thrown him loose.

"Norman" Jack called as loud as he could.

He then heard Mrs. Grant. "Norman."

"Mrs. Grant, are you okay?"

"No. I can't move."

Jack made the effort to turn his head but it made him dizzy. He was seeing double but could see Mrs. Grant lying on her stomach about a dozen feet to his left.

"Norman" Mrs. Grant said a little louder.

There was no response.

After the air traffic controller lost contact with Norman and seeing the plane go off radar, Jack knew they should be sending out a search party to look for them. He estimated they had not been far from the airport when the plane had gone down.

Jack tried to raise his voice. "Mrs. Grant, try to stay calm. They should start looking for us soon."

Jack was really having trouble breathing and suddenly remembered that Sam should be waiting for them at the airport. 'I love you, Sam' were Jack's thoughts as he passed out.

************

Sam was getting really worried. They were now an hour overdue so she asked one of the attendants to please check and see why there was a delay. The attendant picked up the phone, inquired about the plane's arrival and there was a look of surprise on her face. In a moment she ended the call and turned to Sam.

"Come with me please."

"What's wrong?"

The attendant didn't answer but escorted her down the corridor and into a small office.

"Wait here" the woman stated as she closed the door and left Sam alone.

Sam sat down, trying to stay calm.

In a few minutes a man came through the door.

Sam stood up. "Tell me what's going on."

"Please sit down."

Sam raised her voice. "No. Just tell me why they aren't here yet."

"Who was on the plane that you were waiting for?"

"My husband, General Jack O'Neill. He was flying with General Grant and his wife. As far as I know, they were the only passengers."

"There has been an accident."

"What?"

"One of the air traffic controllers received a mayday from the plane. Helicopters have been sent to search for them. We estimate they are in a five to ten mile radius from the airport."

"No" Sam whispered as she sat back down.

"Please stay here and we'll let you know when we hear anything."

As the man left the room, Sam put her hands to her mouth and tried to breathe slowly.

************

Jack was awakened by a noise and realized there was a helicopter overhead.

"Mrs. Grant" Jack spoke as loud as he could. "I think they've found us."

Mrs. Grant did not respond.

The next thing Jack was aware of were two men kneeling beside him and one of the men was applying a bandage to his forehead.

"Sir, can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?"

"General Jack O'Neill."

The two men glanced at each other. "He's the Director of Homeworld Security" one of the men said to the other.

"Okay, sir. Tell us where you hurt."

Jack ignored the question. "Norman and Mrs. Grant, are they okay?"

"We don't know. There are other people tending to them. Sir, where do you hurt the most?"

"Trouble breathing, my neck and legs hurt and I can't move my left arm."

"Okay, sir."

After taking Jack's blood pressure and listening to his heart, one of the men knelt behind him. "Sir, we're going to put a C-collar on you to support your neck."

The men slowly rolled Jack on his side and they slid the collar around his neck. They moved a stretcher under him, then gently laid him on his back.

"Sir, because of the trees, we had to land in a clearing about a half mile from here so it will take us a few minutes to get you to the helicopter. We'll get you to a hospital as soon as we can."

Jack closed his eyes as they picked up the stretcher and started walking. With every step they took, he could feel pain shoot through him until they finally settled him on the helicopter.

************

Sam was pacing the room when the man returned.

"Have they found them?"

"Yes. They're being taken to Memorial Hospital. We'll have someone take you there."

"Are they okay?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything else. That's all the information they gave me."

The man escorted Sam outside where a car was waiting and she quickly got in. As soon as Sam fastened her seatbelt, she called Daniel and told him what had happened. He said that he and Teal'c would meet her at the hospital after he informed General Landry.

Upon arriving, Sam thanked the driver and rushed into the hospital. She stopped at the information desk to ask if Jack and the Grants had been brought in yet. The nurse picked up a phone and in a few moments informed Sam that they had just arrived and told her what area of the hospital to go to.

Sam ran to the elevator, got off on another floor and asked the nurse at the desk if she knew Jack's condition.

"Are you a relative?"

"I'm his wife."

"Stay here and I'll see what I can find out." The nurse hurried down the hall and disappeared behind some doors.

Sam sat down in a chair near the nurse's station and Daniel and Teal'c soon arrived. Sam stood up and Daniel wrapped his arms around her as tears filled her eyes.

"Oh, Daniel."

In a moment she pulled away from him and Teal'c handed her a box of tissues that was on the counter.

Sam wiped her eyes, sat back down and Daniel sat down on her left.

"How is he?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know. The nurse has gone to see what she can find out."

Teal'c stood beside her. "O'Neill is strong. We must remain positive."

A few minutes later, the nurse came back as Daniel and Sam stood up.

"How is he?" Daniel asked.

"The doctor will be out in a few minutes to let you know something."

They sat down and waited. As they talked quietly, General Landry joined them with a worried look on his face.

"How is he?"

Daniel shook his head. "We don't know anything yet."

"What happened?"

"We don't know any of the details, sir" Sam answered.

They had now been waiting almost an hour and Sam was getting more tense by the minute.

A doctor finally came around the corner and everyone stood up as Daniel put his arm around Sam.

"I'm Dr. Bennett. Are you Mrs. O'Neill?"

"Yes. How is he?"

"Your husband is stable for now. One lung has collapsed and the other is working at only about fifty percent capacity. He has broken ribs, a bruised collar bone, countless bruises and from the tests we ran, internal bleeding around his stomach. He is being prepped for surgery. His left arm below the elbow was badly injured so I'm not sure what we'll be dealing with in that area. His left leg isn't broken but is very badly bruised. We'll let you know something as soon as we can. Does he have any allergies or is he allergic to any medication?"

Sam shook her head. "No allergies but he hates being drugged and he hates needles."

"Okay. We'll try to make him as comfortable as possible. The surgery will probably take awhile, since I'm not exactly sure what we'll be dealing with. After the surgery, he'll be in intensive care on the third floor. I must get back but we'll keep you informed."

Dr. Bennett left and they all went to the third floor to begin the long wait.

They sat without talking for a few minutes and Sam stared at the wall. "Two months. We've been married two months and out of that time we've only been together for two days."

Daniel, Teal'c and Hank stared at Sam, not knowing what to say.

Sam suddenly stood up. "Excuse me. I need some air."

Daniel followed her.

They walked to the elevator, rode down to the first floor and just as they stepped off the elevator, Daniel took Sam's hand and led her outside to a small garden that had several lights scattered throughout and a few benches.

"Sam, we have to believe that Jack will get through this."

Sam walked over to a small tree and wrapped her fingers around one of the branches. "I know. It's just . . . we've been so happy, Daniel, even though we've had to spend all our time apart since we were married. After all these years, we finally get together and I never thought I could love someone as much as I do Jack and now he might be taken from me." The tears came again as Daniel embraced her and she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder.

In a few moments, Sam wiped her cheeks and they sat down on a bench as Daniel held her hand.

Sam smiled as she stared across the garden. "You should have seen his face when we said our wedding vows. Jack had never looked at me that way before, with such love and tenderness in his eyes."

"He's crazy in love with you, Sam. He has been for so many years."

She brushed tears from her cheeks. "I hurt him so badly when I got engaged to Pete. I would do anything to take back the pain I caused him."

"Jack wanted you to be happy, whether it was with Pete or someone else. Yes, it hurt him, but he loved you enough to let you go. He was willing to give you up if he knew you were happy. You're together now and that's all that matters to him. He's going to have a strong will to get through this. He will fight to live so you can grow old together and he is going to need you now more than ever."

Sam nodded her head. "I know. I can't imagine my life without him."

Sam took a deep breath. "We better get back upstairs."

As they came by the nurse's station, Sam stopped to talk with a nurse.

"Could you tell me the conditions of General and Mrs. Grant?"

"Mr. Grant was already dead when they found them and Mrs. Grant died not too long after they brought her in. I'm so sorry."

Daniel and Sam stared at the nurse for a moment, then Daniel put his arm around Sam's shoulder as they walked slowly back to the waiting room.

************

It was now early evening. General Landry had returned to the base and Teal'c promised to call him when they knew Jack's condition after the surgery.

Daniel put his hand on Sam's. "I know you don't feel up to it right now, but you need to eat. You're going to need your strength."

Sam nodded her head.

"I will go" Teal'c told them. He went to the hospital cafeteria and returned with sandwiches and drinks. The three friends ate in silence.

While they waited, Teal'c turned on the TV and Daniel sat reading an old National Geographic magazine. Sam sat sideways on the sofa with her shoes off and her feet tucked under her with her head leaning on the back of the sofa, unconsciously rotating her wedding band.

She remembered the day Jack had proposed while they were at the cabin. They had discussed Pete and Kerry and had finally gotten those issues resolved. She told Jack that she had gotten engaged to Pete because she felt she could never be with him, so she thought that maybe, with time, she would grow to love Pete. But as the time drew closer to the wedding, she knew she had to be honest with herself and realized that marrying Pete would have been totally wrong.

Kerry had told Jack that she couldn't see him any more and Jack knew it was for the best; Kerry had guessed how he felt about her. Kerry had only been a distraction to take away the hurt he felt over losing her to Pete.

They sat side by side on the dock, watching the sunset, when Jack asked her to marry him. They didn't want to wait since they knew she wouldn't be out of his chain of command for long, so they had gone to a justice of the peace. She breathed deeply as she realized it had not mattered where they had gotten married, it only mattered to them that they did.

Now here they were, still newlyweds, and she wondered if she would ever get another chance to tell him how much she loved him. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry.

************

Daniel put his hand on Sam's shoulder and she opened her eyes.

"Sam, the doctor's here."

She was immediately alert and started to stand up but the doctor motioned for her to stay seated as he sat down beside her and she put on her shoes.

"Mrs. O'Neill, your husband came through the surgery. His vital signs are stable. He has a concussion that will make him dizzy for a time but that will go away soon. We found some bleeding around his stomach that was caused by the broken ribs on his left side but we have the bleeding under control and his ribs will heal. We'll have to watch for any sign of infection. The bruised collar bone will be most uncomfortable for awhile. He has several bruises on his right shoulder, arm and hand. His back is bruised but his spine is okay. His body has been traumatized and he will be quite sore all over, most of the trauma is to his left side. His left leg is badly sprained but isn't broken. With time and physical therapy I think it will be okay. What concerns me the most is his left arm and hand. There is nerve damage and he might, and I emphasize _might_, have permanent paralysis in that hand. We'll have to wait until he goes through physical therapy to see what the outcome will be."

"But you think he'll be okay? He isn't going to die?" Sam whispered.

"The next 24 hours will be most critical" Dr. Bennett explained.

"May I see him?"

"Yes, but you can only stay a few minutes."

The doctor led Sam to Jack's room.

Sam slowly walked in and stood beside Jack. She noticed that his left arm and hand were heavily bandaged. Gently sliding her fingers under Jack's right hand, she caressed his fingers as tears filled her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat. Leaning over, she gave him a long kiss to his forehead, then looked into his face. "Please don't leave me, Jack. I need you."

A nurse soon came to the door. "I'm sorry, but you must leave now."

Sam put her hand to his cheek and whispered "I love you" and gently kissed him on his forehead once more.

************

Back in the waiting room, Daniel sat staring at the floor as he and Teal'c waited for Sam.

"He simply cannot die, Teal'c. Jack and Sam deserve some happiness after everything they've been through and especially now that they've just started their life together."

"I am aware. He is our friend and we must remain strong for Colonel O'Neill and support her in any way we can."

Sam came back to the waiting room and Teal'c and Daniel stood up. They could see how scared she was.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know. Jack's so pale and . . . I can't lose him, I just can't." Sam's composure began to slip and she started to sob. Daniel put his arms around her as he fought back his own tears. Teal'c put his arms around them both as the three friends held on to each other for support.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

**A/N: This is the longest chapter of the story.**

Sam wanted to stay at the hospital but Daniel convinced her to let them take her home since they knew that Jack would probably not awake until the next day. They promised to bring her back early the next morning.

They rode in silence to Sam's house, each lost in their own thoughts.

When they arrived, she told Teal'c and Daniel that she wanted to take a shower so she went into her bedroom and closed the door.

Sam turned on the water to let it warm up as she undressed and went to the closet to get a towel. Stepping into the shower, she grabbed a loofah sponge and poured some shower gel on it as she squeezed it between her fingers to make it soapy. She stopped and stared at the bubbles and tears filled her eyes as the sponge slipped from her grasp. Sitting down slowly, the warm water cascaded down her back and she began to cry. Putting her arms around her knees, she let the tears come as memories ran through her mind: the look on Jack's face as he proposed and feeling she would burst with happiness as she accepted; making love in the cabin after they had taken their vows and missing Jack so much over these last two months that they had been separated. She stayed in that position for several minutes, letting the warm water soothe her weary body.

Reaching for the sponge, she finally stood and finished bathing. Just as she turned off the water, she heard a knock on the door.

"Sam, are you okay? You've been in there a long time."

"I'm okay, Daniel. Be out in a minute."

After drying her hair, she dressed her in her gown and robe. She slowly walked into the kitchen to see Daniel and Teal'c sitting at the kitchen table. They could see how red and puffy her eyes were.

Sam leaned against the counter. "I'm so angry. Why has this happened to Jack when he deserves some happiness, when we deserve some happiness? After all these years, we're finally married and now this? I don't understand."

In an instant, Daniel was by her side with his arm around her shoulder. "You need sleep, Sam, you're exhausted."

"I think I'll go to bed. You know where the bedrooms are."

Daniel nodded. "Don't worry about us, we'll manage."

Sam gave Daniel a hug, then turned to Teal'c to hug him also. Teal'c wrapped his strong arms around her as she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She walked down the hall and closed her bedroom door. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she noticed the card on the nightstand that Jack had sent her. She picked it up and gently ran her fingers over it as she tried not to cry.

************

The next morning they returned to the hospital, came down the corridor and saw Dr. Bennett at the nurse's station.

"Good morning" the doctor said as he glanced at all three of them.

"How is he?" Daniel asked.

"I just checked on him and his vital signs are good." He looked at Sam. "You may go in."

Sam entered Jack's room and once again held his hand in hers. She stared at him as a nurse came in to check one of the monitors and she moved a chair next to Sam. "Here, sit down. No sense in you having to stand up every time you come to see him."

Sam smiled at the nurse. "Thank you." Sam sat down and held tightly to his hand. Just touching him made her feel better.

Several minutes later the nurse returned and told her she would have to leave. Sam stood from the chair, leaned over and kissed Jack on the cheek but was reluctant to let go of his hand so she held on a few moments longer.

She was heading back to the waiting room when she came by the nurse's station and one of the nurses stopped her.

"Mrs. O'Neill, all these flowers have come in for your husband."

Sam looked around at five flower arrangements.

She pulled the card from the first one. It was signed by Mrs. Arnold, Jack's administrative assistant in Washington. The second was from Colonel Reynolds and Colonel Dixon. The third was from Walter and Siler. Sam's eyes widened as she looked at the fourth card, it was from Kerry Johnson. The last was a very large arrangement from the Joint Chiefs. Sam placed each card back in the flowers after she read each, hoping that Jack could read them later.

She heard someone call her name and turned to see Vala and Cam running down the corridor. They had been off-world and General Landry had told them about Jack when they had returned to Earth.

Vala immediately gave Sam a hug and whispered in her ear "I'm so sorry."

Cam hugged her also. "Is there anything we can do?"

Sam shook her head. "No. Let's go sit down."

Sam led them to the waiting room and as they entered, Daniel and Teal'c stood up and greeted their teammates.

The television was on.

Daniel turned to Sam. "The plane crash is on the news. We've been so busy worrying about Jack, that we didn't think about how fast the news would travel. Since Jack is in such a high position, the whole country knows about the accident."

Sam sat down on the sofa and looked up at the television. Teal'c was holding the remote and he turned up the volume so they could listen.

A news reporter from CNN was speaking. "We have information on the crash that killed General and Mrs. Norman Grant and seriously injured the Director of Homeworld Security, Major General Jack O'Neill. Chris, what's happening there?"

The scene changed from inside the television studio to a reporter standing outside in a grove of trees.

"I'm here with Mr. Goodwin of the NTSB who is leading the investigation of this crash. We're about seven miles east of the Colorado Springs Airport. As you can see, there is little left of the plane."

The reporter stepped aside and the camera zoomed in for a close-up.

Everyone in the waiting room became totally still as they stared at the television. Sam put her hands to her mouth and gasped loudly as she looked at the blackened shell of the plane that had almost taken Jack's life.

Vala sat down by Sam and put her arm around her friend as everyone stared at the television.

Sam suddenly stood and ran from the room. Vala started to follow but Daniel grabbed her arm.

"Let her go, she needs to be alone. Give her a few minutes."

They looked back at the television and the two reporters continued to talk. "It's a miracle that General O'Neill did not also perish in this crash. One of the wings of the plane has not been found and the other one is in several pieces. The shell of the plane was totally burned. Apparently, the three passengers were thrown from the wreckage before the plane caught fire. Back to you."

"Thanks, Chris, for your report. We will keep you updated on the latest news of General O'Neill's condition."

Teal'c turned off the television and the four friends sat down without saying a word.

Vala looked at Daniel. "I don't care what you say, Daniel, I have to be sure Sam is all right. Where do you think she would have gone?"

"Probably downstairs to the first floor. There's a small garden outside to the left" he answered as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Vala found the garden and saw Sam sitting on a bench in a far corner. She approached her and stood a few feet away, then slowly sat down beside her. "I really don't mean to intrude but I wanted to be sure you're okay."

Sam clutched a tissue in her hands and nodded her head. "I'm okay. It was just such a shock to see the plane and know that Jack somehow survived the crash."

"General Landry said he was coming home to spend the weekend with you."

"Yes, he was."

"I'm so sorry. You know, ever since you and General O'Neill were married, you've been smiling a lot more and you just have this happy glow about you all the time. Guess it comes from being madly in love."

"Yes" Sam grinned. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life, or I was until this happened." Tears pooled in her eyes. "I need to pull myself together. I can't keep breaking down like I have been."

Vala took Sam's hand. "Sam, you're one of the strongest women I've ever known, but I would think there was something terribly wrong if you didn't get upset under these circumstances. It's perfectly normal to be upset about someone you love so much."

Sam put her arms around Vala and hugged her.

"We need to get back in case Jack wakes up and they can't find me."

The two women came back to the waiting room and sat down.

"Would you like some coffee, Sam?" Cam asked.

"Yes, please."

As Sam drank the coffee, a nurse came in.

"There's a phone call for you, Mrs. O'Neill. It's the President of the United States."

Sam stood and the nurse led her to the phone.

"Good morning, sir."

"Colonel, how are you?"

"I've been better."

"I'm so sorry this has happened. Is there anything I can do?"

"Not that I can think of, sir."

"If Jack needs specialists, therapy, transportation to anywhere for better care, you just name it and I'll see that it's taken care of."

"Thank you, sir. The doctors and nurses here have been so kind to Jack and me. They're taking very good care of him."

"That's good. I'll be getting updates on Jack quite frequently. Please get in touch with my staff if there is anything I can do."

"I will, sir. Thank you for calling."

"Bye."

"Bye, sir."

Sam went back to the waiting room and looked at Daniel. "Do you think Cassie has heard the news?"

Daniel stood from his chair. "I need some air. I'll go outside and call her."

Teal'c stood also. "I would like fresh air as well. I will accompany you."

The two men left and Sam, Vala and Cam sat talking quietly when Dr. Bennett came in.

"Mrs. O'Neill, he's awake and asking for you."

Sam stood up and looked at the doctor.

"What if he asks about General and Mrs. Grant? What do I tell him?"

"The truth. It will be hard for him but it won't do any good to put if off."

Sam hurried to Jack's room. His eyes were open but he looked very sleepy. She took his hand carefully in hers and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm here, Jack."

Jack looked into her eyes. "I love you, Sam" he whispered.

She struggled not to cry. "I love you too. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been through Ba'al's torture chamber about a hundred times."

Sam grinned. "You're going to be okay, Jack."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I will not accept the alternative. You're going to get better and do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I refuse to live my life without you. We waited so long to be married and we're going to grow old together."

"Good" Jack whispered then slowly closed his eyes.

Refusing to let go of his hand, Sam pulled a chair toward her with her foot, sat down and watched him sleep as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She massaged Jack's hand as she thought back to the day they had met; the time he had been stranded on Edora and how hard she had worked to bring him home; their confessions during the zatarc test; the time he had rescued her from Adrian Conrad; when Jack had been stuck on the planet's moon with Maybourne and she feared she would never find him. There were so many instances that had happened over the years to make her realize that Jack was the only man she would ever truly love.

She slowly lifted his hand and gently pressed her lips to his fingers as she closed her eyes for a few moments. She opened her eyes to see Jack staring at her. She stood up and he smiled at her as he whispered "I love you."

"I love you too, Jack."

He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

A little later, Sam returned to the waiting room.

"How is he?" Cam asked.

"He knows me but he's not quite awake yet."

Sam sat down beside Daniel. "Did you talk to Cassie?"

"Yes. She and some friends had been on a camping trip and they only got home about an hour ago so she hadn't heard the news."

"How did she take it?"

"Not well. She said to tell you she's on her way."

************

It was now early afternoon so the group left to go to a restaurant across the street from the hospital. They all tried to talk about other things so Sam could get Jack off her mind for awhile. As soon as everyone was finished, Sam was ready to leave.

As they got back to the other side of the street, Sam stopped and turned to face her friends. "All of you really don't need to stay with me. I know you have other things to do and if there's any change in Jack's condition, I'll call you."

Cam, Teal'c and Vala returned to the base, but Daniel wanted to stay with Sam so they went back inside. Sam went to Jack's room once again but found him asleep so she returned to the waiting room.

"Is there anything you need? Anything from your house or the base?" Daniel asked.

"Can't think of anything."

Just at that moment Sam's cell phone rang so she got it out of her purse.

"Hello."

"Sam, it's Mark. I just heard the news on TV about Jack. How badly is he injured?"

Sam went through the list.

"Oh Sam, I'm so sorry. I thought I'd come stay with you."

"Why don't you give it a few days until they've moved him to a private room. Right now I'm the only one they will allow to see him and only for a few minutes at a time."

"Okay. I'll wait."

"Thanks, Mark, I really appreciate the offer."

Sam ended the call and sat back on the sofa.

Daniel smiled. "You know, Sam, I knew there was going to be something between you and Jack the first time I met you."

"On Abydos?"

"Yes."

She turned sideways on the sofa to face him. "Why did you think that?"

"Remember when we sat down to the evening meal and Skaara gave the moonshine to Jack?"

"Yes."

"I looked at you two sitting side by side. You looked good together and when I took you, Jack, and Kowalski to see the cavern inside the pyramid, several times I noticed Jack looking at you when he didn't think anyone was watching, but I was watching. Then Sha're was taken and I came back to Earth. Jack told me that he and Sara had split up so I thought then that he really was attracted to you but I didn't say anything to him. I just wanted to see what would happen. A few weeks later, the base got infected with the Broca virus. Jack said you had attacked him in the locker room."

Sam laughed. "I was out of my mind."

"Jack told me you were in the infirmary. I told him I thought I'd go check on you since you were my friend, but he didn't want me anywhere near you. Little jealousy there. He started hitting me and people had to pull him off me. When that happened, I knew my observations had been correct. So, over the years I've watched you two during briefings, on missions, O'Malley's, team nights. Teal'c and I watched you fall in love but we both knew if we said anything to either of you, that you would both deny it. Every time one of you was injured, Teal'c and I would see the panic on your faces. When one of you was in the infirmary, you didn't want to leave the other." Daniel shook his head. "You were so perfect for each other and all that nonsense about Air Force rules and regulations, I just wanted to scream sometimes. Always putting duty before happiness. Spending so much time together, you and Jack came to know more about each other than a lot of married couples. When you got engaged to Pete, I had never seen such sadness in Jack's eyes. Every time I tried to talk to him about it, he just clammed up. When you were around, he covered up his feelings and acted like he was happy for you but Teal'c and I knew better."

Daniel took Sam's hand in his.

"I don't say any of this to upset you. I'm just trying to get across to you how very much Jack loves you. He's going to get through this, Sam, because he wants to spend the rest of his life loving you."

Tears came to Sam's eyes and she put her arms around Daniel's neck and hugged him.

************

A few hours passed and Daniel had gone to the restroom.

Sam leaned her head back against the sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, hands on her stomach and eyes closed. She felt someone touch her shoulder and opened her eyes.

"Cassie." Sam stood up and hugged the young woman.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner but I didn't know about Jack until Daniel called me."

"It's okay."

"How is he?"

"He's in serious condition."

Daniel returned and gave Cassie a hug.

"Can I see Jack?" Cassie asked.

"No, they'll only let me see him a few minutes each hour. Daniel hasn't even seen him yet."

Tears came to Cassie's eyes. "Jack is like a dad to me, Sam. I don't want to lose him."

"You won't, honey."

"How do you know?"

"The doctor says his vital signs are stable, he's awake and knows me and that's good. We'll just have to give him a lot of time to recover."

************

Every hour Sam went to Jack's room and they would talk for a few minutes.

It was getting dark as Sam returned to his room one last time before she left for the day. She noticed this time that he seemed more alert.

"Sam, please go home and get some rest. You look tired" he whispered.

She gently brushed his hair with her finger tips. "Now that you're awake I don't want to leave you."

"I'll be okay. The nurses will take care of me and you have to take care of yourself. Please? For me?"

"Okay, but I promise I'll be back early in the morning."

"You by yourself?"

"No, Cassie and Daniel are here. They'll take me home."

"Good."

Daniel told Sam that he and Teal'c would go get her car at the airport and drive it back to her house, so she gave him her key and told him where she had parked.

Sam rode home with Cassie and Daniel returned to the base.

************

Sam awoke early, showered and dressed. She and Cassie had a quick breakfast before returning to the hospital.

"How is he?" Sam asked when they arrived at the nurse's desk.

"He's more alert this morning and his right lung is better so that should help with his breathing. I went to check on him around 2:00 this morning. He was mumbling in his sleep, something about somebody named Charlie."

Sam and Cassie glanced at each other.

"I take it you know who that is?"

"Yes, we do" Sam answered. "May I see him?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Cassie went to the waiting room as Sam went to check on Jack. He was awake.

"Hi, honey." Sam kissed him on the lips for the first time since their honeymoon.

"Would you do that again?"

Sam gave him a longer kiss.

"That makes me feel much better."

Sam grinned. "Makes me feel better too." She pulled up a chair and sat down.

Jack looked into her eyes. "Okay. I want to know what's wrong with me."

Sam filled him in on his condition. "Your left leg was badly sprained. It isn't broken but the doctor says you'll probably have to go through physical therapy. The doctor is most concerned about your left hand, Jack, there's nerve damage and . . ."

"What? Tell me."

"There's the possibility that you may never have the full use of your hand again, Jack. The damage may be too extensive."

Jack turned his head and stared at the ceiling.

"Jack, please don't let this get you down. You have to give yourself time to heal."

Sam looked at the door to see if anyone was coming and she lowered her voice. "I might be able to use the healing device on your hand."

"Okay. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. How are General and Mrs. Grant?"

No matter how hard she tried, Sam couldn't find the words to tell him.

Jack stared at her. "They're dead, aren't they?"

Sam nodded her head. "General Grant was dead at the crash site. Mrs. Grant died not too long after they brought her in. I'm so sorry, Jack."

Tears came to his eyes and ran down the side of his face. Sam grabbed a tissue and wiped them away.

"Why me, Sam? Why did I live and they didn't?"

"I don't know, Jack. I don't know."

They talked a little longer until it was time for Sam to leave.

The next time Sam sat with Jack, Dr. Bennett came in and talked with them. He was very optimistic that Jack's lungs would be okay, his ribs and collar bone would heal, but he was still uncertain about Jack's hand and leg.

Dr. Bennett looked at Jack's chart. "If your lung capacity continues to rise, we'll be moving you to a private room soon."

Sam grinned at Jack. "Everyone can come visit you."

"Oh, goody. Everybody will gather around my bed and stare at me."

Sam laughed and Dr. Bennett grinned. "Good to see your sense of humor is still intact, General."

************

Two days later, Jack was moved to a private room. At different times, Cassie, Daniel, Teal'c, Vala, Cam and Hank came to visit.

The President had called again and several people from the base had called or come by also.

Jack was still getting daily deliveries of flowers. Sam took the cards out of the flowers and sat down beside Jack to show him the cards. He picked up each one to read it. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the one from Kerry.

"Does it surprise you that she sent you flowers?" Sam asked.

"A little." Jack turned his head to look at her. "Does it bother you?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess I'm okay with it."

"She's a nice person and I think they were sent out of concern. I'm sure she has heard by now that you and I are married. As you know, she figured out how I feel about you and she was the one to urge me to do something about us."

"I know. At least it was just a simple arrangement of cut flowers and not red roses."

Jack looked into her eyes. "Sam, I love you, not Kerry. You know that. Right?"

"Yes, I know."

"You're the only woman I love."

"Good." Sam stood up from her chair and gave him a long kiss.

"Okay, cut it out you two." General Hammond stood at the door with a grin on his face.

Sam gave George a hug. "It's so good to see you, sir."

"You too. How's the patient?" George asked as he shook Jack's hand.

"Okay. Good to see you, George."

"Jack, I'm sorry I haven't been here sooner. I've been out of the country on vacation with my family and we just got back in town last night. I had an urgent message from Hank on my answering machine to call him as soon as I got back."

"It's okay, George."

George pulled up a chair and sat down by Sam. "I knew Norman Grant and his wife. Fine couple and hard to believe they're gone."

Jack stared straight ahead and Sam slowly placed her hand on George's arm and squeezed. George looked at her and Sam gently shook her head as she changed the subject.

A little later, one of the nurses came in to give Jack some medicine in his IV that they knew would make him sleep, so George said goodbye to Jack. Sam told Jack she would walk George out and would be right back.

They walked a few steps down the corridor and Sam stopped.

"Sir, Jack and I haven't really talked about General and Mrs. Grant. Jack feels guilty because he lived and they didn't."

"Oh, Sam, he shouldn't feel that way."

"I agree but you know how Jack is. He sometimes feels guilty for things that are beyond his control. I know I'm being very selfish, but if anyone had to die, I'm glad it was not Jack." She looked down at the floor. "I know I'm a horrible person for thinking that way."

"It's okay, Sam, it's a normal reaction. You know, I knew the Grants pretty well. I think if they'd had the choice of whether to live or die, they would have chosen to die together so that Jack could live. They had many, many years together, so don't feel guilty about wanting Jack to be okay."

"Thank you, sir."

George grinned. "Sam, you're really going to have to get used to calling me George. I'm retired now, remember?"

She returned the smile. "Okay, George."

"I'll be back."

"Good. I'm sure Jack would like for you to visit again when he's feeling better."

************

Sam sat beside Jack as he slept and held his hand while she stared at the television but not really paying attention.

There was a soft knock so Sam let go of Jack's hand and stood from her chair as someone peeked around the door. It was her brother.

Sam hugged Mark. "I'm so glad you're here."

"How are you?"

"For the circumstances, I guess I'm okay."

"You look tired."

"Yeah, well, I'm not getting much sleep. When I should be sleeping, I'm lying awake, thinking about Jack. I'll be okay."

"How is he?"

Sam gave Mark an update as they sat down to talk.

Jack mumbled in his sleep, then groaned as he opened his eyes and Sam stood beside the bed.

"Sam" Jack said with a raspy voice as he tried to catch his breath.

She put her hand on his cheek to calm him. "I'm here, Jack, I'm here."

Jack took a few deep breaths. "My ribs hurt."

"Mark, would you go get the nurse?"

Mark left the room.

Jack tried to swallow. "Water."

Sam walked around to the other side of the bed, picked up a glass of water and held the straw to his lips, then set the glass back down.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Mark, my brother, is here."

In a few moments, Mark returned with a nurse.

The nurse smiled at Jack. "Mr. O'Neill, I'm going to give you some pain medicine in your IV and it should only take a few minutes to take effect. Let me know if you need anything else."

The nurse left the room as Jack opened his eyes really wide and tried to focus on Mark.

"Jack, this is Mark."

Mark smiled at Jack. "Hello."

"Hi."

"I've been eager to meet you. Sam has told me so much about you."

"Good or bad?"

Mark grinned. "All good."

Sam looked at her watch, then at Jack. "Are you hungry? It's past lunch time and you need to eat."

Jack took a deep breath. "I could eat a little."

"I'll go tell one of the nurses" Mark volunteered and left the room. When he returned, Sam had sat down by Jack and was holding his hand.

Mark sat beside Sam. "They'll bring you a tray shortly."

Sam and Mark talked as they waited for Jack's lunch. It finally arrived and Sam raised the bed as high as was comfortable for Jack to sit up.

"Sam, you haven't eaten either. Why don't you and Mark go get lunch? I'll be okay and if I need anything, I'll buzz the nurse."

Sam fluffed his pillow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Mark, take your sister and go."

Cassie came in and volunteered to sit with Jack while Sam and Mark went to eat.

They walked across the street and started to talk after they gave their orders to the waiter.

"There was a picture of Jack on the news so I got to see what he looked like before I got here."

Sam stared at her hands. "I've heard some of the updates they've been giving about him."

Mark reached for her hand. "He'll be okay, Sam."

"I keep telling myself that. Or at least, that's what my head keeps trying to say. My heart says something else sometimes."

"Why do you say that?"

"I know him so well, Mark. I think this problem with his arm and hand are already getting him down."

"What does the doctor say?"

"To give it time. But Jack isn't a patient person and ever since I've known him, he has always been so active. I fear this will make him depressed."

Mark wasn't sure what to say so they sat in silence for a few moments.

"Sam, I'm sorry about you and Pete. I should have never tried to get you two together."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I hurt him. I really am and I should have never accepted his proposal, but I came to realize just how much I love Jack. How is Pete? Have you talked to him?"

"Not recently. I saw him after you called off the wedding. He was hurt but I think he knew all along it wouldn't work out. He'll be all right."

************

Cassie sat beside Jack's bed.

"How's school?"

"Okay. I'll be so glad when I graduate this year."

"Now it's on to med school."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

"Janet would be very proud of you."

One of the nurses came in to take Jack's temperature and blood pressure, then left the room.

"I was so excited when Sam called to tell me you had gotten married. I've wanted this since I first came to this planet." She lowered her voice. "I mean, since I came here" she said with a grin and glanced at the door to be sure no one had heard her.

"Yes, I know you have. I've wanted it a long time too."

Cassie grinned. "So, are we going to hear the pitter patter of little feet?"

Jack smiled. "That's really up to Sam."

"I think you two would be great parents. I hope you have a baby."

Sam returned and pulled up a chair. "Mark went to get something from his car. Said he has a surprise for me."

Mark returned a few minutes later and handed Sam a box.

"What's this?"

Mark sat down beside Sam. "Look inside."

Sam lifted the lid from the box.

"Oh, Mark. This is beautiful."

"What is it?" Jack asked.

Sam held up an 8 x 10 picture frame with a picture of her parents on their wedding day.

Mark smiled. "I took it to a photographer and had it restored. I thought you would like to have it. I had one made for myself too."

"Thank you, Mark."

Jack grinned. "Jacob had hair."

Mark chuckled as Cassie took the picture from Sam and stared at it. "Sam, you look just like your mother."

"She always has" Mark commented. "If you look at pictures of Mom and Sam, you would almost think it was the same person."

Jack stared at the picture. "She was a beautiful woman."

"Yes, she was" Mark agreed.

Sam sighed. "I wish you could have known her, Jack."

"Me too, honey. So, Mark, tell us what Sam was like when you two were kids."

Mark started to grin.

Sam smirked. "Careful, Mark. I know how to hurt you in several different ways."

"She was super smart, funny, sweet, hyper at times, mischievous, sometimes shy and all my buddies had a crush on her."

Jack grinned. "Now why does that last part not surprise me."

Sam started to blush. "Not all of them."

Mark crossed his arms. "Okay, name one that didn't."

"Uh, well, Brian Dawson."

"Yes, he did. He was just very good at covering it up. He wanted to date you but was just very shy when it came to asking you out. There were very few of my friends I would have let you date."

Sam's eyes grew wide. "Let me?"

"That's right. As pretty as you are, I know what most of them were after . . . and it wasn't your brain."

Jack smiled.

Cassie giggled. "Played the protective big brother?"

"You bet I did. Dad wasn't around a lot so somebody had to do it."

Sam crossed her arms. "Oh please, I can take care of myself."

"Yes, you could but I enjoyed looking after you. Dad asked me to take care of you."

Sam looked surprised. "When was that?"

"Right after Mom died. Dad had to work a lot so he knew he couldn't always be around to interrogate your dates so he left it up to me."

The smile left Sam's face. "That was about the only time you listened to what he said. Everything else you fought about."

"I hated the military for taking him away from us so much, Sam. It was very hard on Mom and if he had picked her up that day like he was supposed to, she would be alive now."

Sam stared at her brother. "Mark, please don't bring that up. The past is the past and we can't change it."

"You're right. Sorry, Jack and Cassie. Didn't mean to dredge up old history."

Sam looked at the picture. "But you and Dad reconciled."

Mark stared out the window. "Yes . . . eventually."

************

It was now early evening and Cassie had left to return to school after telling Jack she would be back soon.

Jack had fallen asleep.

Mark watched Sam as she took Jack's hand and kissed him on the cheek.

"He will probably not wake up again tonight so I guess we can leave."

Mark put his arm around her shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you home. You need some rest."

Sam was tired and went to bed early but she woke up the next morning feeling anxious.

Mark came into the kitchen to find her already dressed and talking on the phone. In a few moments she ended the call.

"Morning."

"Morning. I was just talking to the nurse at the hospital to get an update on Jack. He had a restful night."

They sat down with coffee and cereal and Sam stared into her coffee cup.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked as he took a bite of cereal.

Sam suddenly set down the cup, put her hands to her face and started to cry.

Mark stood from his chair, knelt down in front of Sam and hugged her to him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You're stressed out. It's natural to be worried." Mark stood up from the floor and sat back down in the chair.

"You always try to be so strong, Sam. Maybe you need to cry once in awhile and let out all this stress you're feeling."

"You don't know how much I've cried already, Mark. I'm trying to be positive about the situation but if anything ever happened to Jack . . ."

"He's going to get better. He loves you and he wants to get better."

Sam wiped her eyes and they finished eating.

They arrived at the hospital to find Daniel talking with Jack.

Sam introduced Daniel to Mark and the two men shook hands.

Sam leaned over to give Jack a kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, now that you're here."

Daniel put his hands in his pockets. "I thought I'd drop by on the way to the Mountain to check on Jack. I'd better be going."

"So soon?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I have a lot to do. It was nice to meet you, Mark."

Mark grinned. "You too."

Daniel put his hand on Jack's arm. "We'll talk later."

"Okay. Thanks for stopping by."

Later in the morning, Sam and Mark sat talking quietly to Jack when Dr. Bennett came in.

"Good morning, General. How are you feeling?"

"A little better."

Dr. Bennett carefully removed the bandages from Jack's arm and hand and pressed gently on several areas.

"Did you feel any of that?"

"Very little" Jack answered.

"Okay. Someone will be coming to take you for new x-rays. After I see them, I'll be back to talk with you."

A little later, Jack was brought back to his room by an orderly after new x-rays had been taken. His arm and hand were now covered in light gauze bandages.

Just as Jack was finishing lunch, Dr. Bennett returned.

"The x-rays show that your lungs, ribs and collar bone are healing, it will just take some time." The doctor came to stand beside Jack. "I want to see if you can walk on your left leg."

Jack slowly eased out of bed and the doctor put his arm around Jack's waist to steady him as he slowly tried to put weight on his leg.

"Do you feel anything?"

"Yes, some. Feels like my leg's asleep."

Dr. Bennett grinned. "That's good. You should keep feeling improvement."

Jack sat down on the side of the bed. "Will I get the use of my leg back?"

The doctor crossed his arms. "With therapy I'm pretty sure you will, and since you're already feeling something so soon after the accident, that's a very good sign. Starting tomorrow, I want you to get up and try to walk. I'll send one of our physical therapists to work with you."

Jack glanced at Sam, then back to Dr. Bennett. "Be straight with me, Doc. What are the chances I'm never going to use my hand again?"

"To be honest about it, at this point we just don't know. It's still too soon to tell."

TBC

**A/N: The most angst of the story will be in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Mark drove his rental car and followed Sam in hers to the hospital the next morning. They parked their cars side by side and walked up the sidewalk together and stopped just outside the doors.

"I'm really glad you've been here the last few days, Mark. It's been nice to have somebody to talk to that I don't work with."

"That's what family is for, to let your hair down and be yourself. I know you can't always do that with your friends."

They entered the hospital and came into Jack's room to see him sitting in a chair.

"Hi, honey." Sam leaned over to give him a kiss.

"How are you, Jack?" Mark asked.

"Not too bad. One of the physical therapists got me up to walk a little but I'm afraid I was a little wobbly."

They sat and talked for awhile until Mark looked at his watch.

"I need to be going if I want to catch my flight."

Sam hugged Mark. "Thank you for coming. It's been good to have you here."

Mark turned to Jack and shook his hand.

"Jack, it was nice to finally meet you. I'll be calling to check on your progress and I hope everything goes well."

"Good to meet you too and I appreciate your being here for Sam."

"When you get better, I would like for you to come visit me and my family."

Jack smiled. "We'd like that."

Sam linked her arm through Mark's. "I'll walk out with you. Be back in a minute, Jack."

Sam and Mark walked to the elevator and he hugged her one more time.

"I hope the therapy goes well for Jack and let us know how he's doing."

Sam smiled. "I promise."

Sam started back to Jack's room but was stopped by one of the nurses.

"We just had some mail come in for your husband and you have another flower arrangement."

Sam asked the nurse behind the desk for the mail. As she stood waiting, she smelled the flowers, opened the card to see who they were from and her eyes grew wide with surprise. She then overhead two nurses talking behind the counter.

"He sure is handsome."

"He certainly is."

"I saw him this morning when I went to take his vitals. I had heard what a great looking guy he is and I finally got to see for myself."

"Don't you just love his gray hair?" one of them said as she put her hand over her heart and sighed.

"He's tall and handsome and sexy, even in a hospital gown."

"He's also very powerful. He's a General in the Air Force and works with the President."

"Too bad he's married. Lucky woman."

"Yeah, too bad" the other one said as she wandered off.

The nurse handed Sam the mail, she picked up the flowers and smiled to herself. 'Yes, I'm a very lucky woman.'

She entered Jack's room and set the flowers on a table.

"Who are those from?"

Sam handed him the card and Jack stared at it. "Well, of all people. Harry Maybourne."

Sam grinned. "That was nice of Harry. You know, Jack, I know you two have your differences, but I think he really respects you."

"Harry has his faults, that's for sure, but he has also helped us out a few times."

Sam glanced through the mail. "Like when I was kidnapped by Adrian Conrad."

Jack slowly nodded his head. "And when he helped me with that slimy Kinsey."

Jack handed Sam the card and she added it to the stack already in the drawer. She pulled up a chair beside Jack and started to smile.

"What are you grinning at?"

"You have admirers around here."

"What?"

"I overheard two of the nurses talking. Apparently they think you're, as they said, handsome and sexy, even in a hospital gown."

"Yeah, right" Jack said as he looked out the window.

Sam shook her head. Jack would never understand that women found him so attractive. She had noticed how gorgeous he was the moment they met. Not only was he attractive he was also intelligent, witty, kind and caring. He could also be impatient, sarcastic, short-tempered and stubborn, but she loved everything about Jack O'Neill.

An envelope fell off of Sam's lap and Jack turned to look at her.

"What is all that?"

"It's probably get well cards." She handed him the stack.

Jack took them in his right hand, then stared at his left hand lying so still in his lap.

Sam saw his expression change and the intense look in his eyes. She knew that look and braced herself for what was coming.

Jack flung all the envelopes to the floor in anger.

Sam was silent for a few moments, then she stood from her chair, picked up all the envelopes and turned to face him.

"If you don't want to look at them, just say so."

Jack turned to face her and raised his voice. "I can't use my hand, Sam, I can't use my hand! You know what that makes me? Huh? Do you?"

Sam closed the door. "If you're going to have a tantrum, I don't think everyone in the hospital wants to hear it."

Jack stared at her. "I'm deformed!"

Sam sat down in the chair.

"You are not deformed, Jack. You haven't even started physical therapy yet. You're going to have to be patient and wait for your hand to get better and as I told you, the healing device may help."

Jack clinched his right hand. "The nerves are shot! It's not going to get better!"

"Look" she said gently "we don't know anything of the kind. We have to give it time."

"And if it doesn't heal?"

"We'll deal with it - together." She pulled her chair closer to Jack's and put her hand under his chin so that he had to look at her.

"It won't make you any less than you are."

He jerked his head away. "Yes, it will. I don't want people staring at me and not knowing what to say."

"Feeling sorry for yourself?" She knew if they didn't address this now that the situation would only get worse. "Your pride is getting in the way."

"Don't talk to me about pride, Sam. I don't have much pride left." He looked at her with pain in his eyes then stared out the window.

"So what do you think is going to happen, Jack? Do you think your friends are going to pity you? Do you think you're going to lose your job because of this? Do you think you'll be an embarrassment to the President? Do you think people are going to look at you and not see the great General Jack O'Neill?"

"Shut up!"

"Or do you think I'm going to be so embarrassed that I'll leave you? Don't have much faith in me do you?"

Jack stood, limped back to the bed, lay down and turned his back to her.

Sam knew they both needed to calm down before one of them said something they would really regret.

She stood from her chair, laid the mail on the bedside table and went to the door.

"I'm going for a walk." She opened the door and shut it behind her as she leaned against it for a moment, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

As soon as Sam closed the door, Jack wiped the tears from his eyes. She knew that he needed some space and was giving it to him. He knew she was right, he was afraid his friends would pity him and he didn't want their pity. He was in the public eye so much he felt his disability would embarrass him. He felt too old to have to adjust to such a huge change. He would have to learn to do most things with only one hand and he would need help with others such as getting dressed, knotting a tie, cutting a steak, tying his shoes. He would have to learn to type on his computer using one hand. Just little things that he had taken for granted until now.

But what scared him most of all was losing Sam. Was she right? Did he have such little faith in their love and devotion for each other to think that she would leave him? He had always felt unworthy of her, that he didn't deserve her. He felt there were so many men that were younger and could offer her so much more than being stuck with him. He sometimes didn't understand why Sam loved him when he knew she could have any man she wanted and yet, here he was married to her and over the past two months since they had married, she seemed really happy.

If his hand did not get better, he would never get to put both hands on her face and wipe away her tears when she was sad or upset. He would never be able to put both arms around her and really hug her to show her affection, give her comfort or hold her in his arms when they made love.

He remembered their time at the cabin when they had married. For the two short days they were together, they made love as often as they felt like it. Sam knew he wasn't good with words, but he tried to show her through his actions how much he loved her. Since then, they'd had to spend all their time apart. For two months they had been separated and now here he was in the hospital. What a way to start a marriage.

Jack rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He raised his right hand, ran it through his hair and swallowed the lump in his throat.

************

Sam walked slowly around the grounds of the hospital.

'How could he have such little faith in me?' she thought to herself as tears slid down her face. 'Does he not realize that I love him, no matter what? Does he not realize that I love him, even if he never gets well?'

She heard someone calling her name and turned to see General Hammond coming toward her and he could see that she was crying.

"Sam."

She tried to smile. "Hello, George."

He touched her arm. "What's wrong?"

Sam brushed the tears from her eyes, crossed her arms and looked down at the ground. "Jack and I had a fight."

"Why?"

"He's giving up already. He doesn't think his hand will get better."

"Let's sit down." They walked a few steps further down the sidewalk and sat down on a bench. "Tell me what happened."

"He doesn't think that physical therapy will help his hand. He thinks everyone is going to see him as deformed. I tried to tell him that no one will think of him that way but he won't listen. He can be so stubborn sometimes. I just don't know what to do."

They sat there for a few silent moments and George gathered his thoughts.

"Jack has always been a man of action and, as you know, in perfect health, except for the times he was injured or tortured, but he always bounced back. He knows that it may not be that way this time. Yes, Jack does have a lot of pride but he doesn't care about others' opinions. The only opinion that really matters to him is yours. Probably the thing that scares him the most is the thought of losing you, Sam. He loves you so much."

"And I love him, George. We vowed to stay together in sickness and in health. No matter how badly he's injured, I would never leave him." She put her hand to her mouth and tried not to cry.

"I know you wouldn't. You know, I watched him fall in love with you, regulations or not. He was too dedicated to the Air Force to break those regulations and he had too much respect for you to jeopardize your career. But the feelings were there just the same, and I watched him fight those feelings so many times. He didn't know how observant I was. He wasn't pulling the wool over my eyes one bit. For that matter . . . neither were you."

Sam quickly turned her head and looked at George as she started to blush.

"I could see right through both of you. Jack thought he was keeping his feelings under wraps, and to most people he covered up those feelings very well. I knew better. The day that you two first met in the briefing room, I could see the attraction and the sparks between you already. You stood up to Jack and he admired that. Over time, I saw how both of you would get when the other was injured or missing. I saw it with you when Jack was stuck on Edora. You nearly worked yourself to death to bring him home."

Sam shook her head. "I didn't know I was that obvious."

"Not to everyone, no. So many times when you were in the infirmary, Jack wouldn't leave you. Several times I had to order him to get some rest. He tried not to show it, but he was upset when you were missing on the Prometheus. He got this look in his eyes, he was a man on a mission and he was determined to find you. I sent teams to several places that we thought you might be. Jack went on every one, he hardly slept for four days. After you got back, I've never seen such relief on his face. It was as if he had been holding his breath until your return. I had worked late the night you got back and I went to the infirmary to find out how you were doing. Jack was sitting on the bed next to you, just staring at you. He didn't know I was at the door and Dr. Jackson walked up beside me. We stood there looking at you, then he whispered to me 'he loves her and he won't leave her.' He smiled at me and walked away. That was the only time that Dr. Jackson and I acknowledged the feelings between you, but we both knew and so did Teal'c. Jack sat on the bed next to you for hours, hoping you would be okay."

"After Jack took command of the SGC and you got engaged to Pete, and when I was back at the SGC for whatever reason, I could see how much he was hurting. He tried to cover up his feelings and be happy for you. Then I heard you broke your engagement and I was hoping that Jack would finally do something. When he called to tell me that you had gotten married, I'd never heard him sound so happy."

George paused for a moment.

"I know it sounds corny, Sam, but Jack wants to be your knight in shining armor. You're his life and he wants to make you happy. He feels he isn't a whole person since the accident. He's a very independent man and gives everyone the impression that he doesn't need anybody. But he needs you, more than he would ever admit. Losing you would destroy him."

George reached for Sam's hand.

"I know it's going to be hard, but give him all the love and support he needs. When he starts feeling sorry for himself, stand up to him and give him a good swift kick in the butt when he needs it, even during the times he tries to push you away. It will be hard but that's what he needs. He'll come around in time."

"Thank you" Sam whispered as she gave George a hug.

They went back to Jack's room to find him asleep so they sat down and the conversation turned to Jacob.

"Dad tried to tell me to not let rules stand in my way." Sam looked down at her hands. "He didn't come out and say it, but I could tell he didn't like Pete very much when he met him."

"Jacob had thought for a long time that Jack would be his son-in-law."

"He told you that?"

"Yes. He liked and respected him and he thought Jack was good for you. He thought your getting engaged to Pete was a big mistake. Jacob knew that either Jack would have to retire, you would have to transfer to another team or something so you could be together but Jacob thought it would work out. He wanted to live to see it happen."

"I wish he had lived to see us together."

"Me too."

"I miss Dad and I wish he were here now. I could really use his support."

Jack took a deep breath and Sam and George stood up to see if something was wrong.

"Jack, you okay?"

"I'm okay, George" Jack answered as he turned his head and stared out the window.

"Do you need anything?" Sam asked.

"No."

George and Sam sat back down and talked but Jack didn't join in the conversation.

George soon told them that he needed to leave and gave Sam a hug before he left.

Jack stared at the ceiling as Sam pulled up a chair. She wasn't sure what to say but knew that they needed to talk as she grasped his hand.

"Jack, please don't ignore me. We need to discuss this."

Jack squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Sam. I . . . I'm afraid . . ."

"What are you afraid of?" she gently asked.

Jack swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm afraid of losing you."

Sam stood up and gave him a kiss, then looked into his eyes. "You are never going to lose me, Jack. I love you. I'm your wife. I want us to spend the rest of our days together. No matter what happens to you, Jack O'Neill, I will never leave you."

She glanced at his left hand. "Even if you never get back the use of your hand, I will always love you. Even if you're in a wheelchair the rest of your life, I will never leave you and will always love you."

Sam smiled. "Even when you're old and decrepit, I will still love you."

Jack tried to smile as tears came to his eyes but he quickly blinked them away. "I just can't believe this happened. We've been married just a short time, had to spend all our time apart, and now this. It doesn't seem fair."

Sam sat down beside him on the bed.

"It isn't fair, Jack, but we can't let this get us down. You need to go through therapy and as I said, the healing device may help. But we can't use it right now because if it does help, Dr. Bennett could never understand how your hand and arm could miraculously heal."

"I know. I'm sorry I was so rude to you."

Sam grinned as she put her hand to his cheek. "It's okay, honey. I guess if I were in your position, I'd lash out at you too."

Jack stared into her eyes.

"What is it, Jack?"

"I don't want to stay in Washington. I want to get well and stay here in the Springs with you."

"I'd love that but what would the President say?"

"I'm to the point I don't care what he would say. Last night I was lying here thinking about how fast our lives can be taken from us, just like the Normans' lives were taken from them."

"Jack, none of us are promised tomorrow. We just have to live in the here and now and live each day to its fullest."

Jack sighed. "I'm tired of always putting everyone else first and what's best for the planet. We've been married two months and we were together only two days. I'm certainly not getting any younger and I'm not going to be around forever. I want some peace in my life and I'm not finding that peace in Washington and not having you there with me is the hardest part."

Sam smiled. "Maybe there is something we can do . . . or I can do."

"What?"

"I want to leave Stargate Command."

"You can't!"

"Yes, I can. You're doing a great job in Washington and I don't want you to retire just yet."

Jack opened his mouth to protest but Sam put her finger to his lips to stop him. "Just hear me out, okay?"

Jack nodded his head.

"I've had a lot of time to think while sitting in our house all these nights by myself and missing you for the past two months. I agree that we need to put ourselves first for once. I know we've earned it. I don't think I would have any trouble getting a job at the Pentagon. I still have some contacts that I could talk with about working there again. If not the Pentagon, then I'm sure I could find something to do in Washington. That way we could be together and we wouldn't be missing each other all the time."

Jack breathed deeply. "I don't know what to say. Here I was ready to retire and now you spring this on me."

"Jack, if the job really is getting to you that much, then maybe you should retire. I was just trying to think of a solution that's best for us both, a way that we can be together."

"Let's wait and see how fast I heal before we make any definite decisions."

Sam smiled. "Okay."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A therapist came the next few days to work with Jack and his walking improved.

Sam was sitting beside him on his bed with her head on his shoulder as they watched the news.

Dr. Bennett came into the room and Jack turned the TV off so they could talk.

Sam got off the bed and sat in a chair.

"I want to check your arm and hand, General."

The doctor removed the bandage and Jack could lift his arm a few inches but his hand shook as he tried to straighten and spread his fingers.

"Can you feel anything?"

Jack laid his arm back down in his lap. "I feel lots of tingling but don't have much strength."

"But that's good, that means the nerves are not totally damaged. I want to start physical therapy on your hand. It may take some time but I think the strength and flexibility will improve. Whether you get total use of your arm and hand back, I can't speculate on that. Only time will tell."

Jack nodded his head. "Okay. I'd like to get out of here. When can I go home?"

"Your latest x-rays show that your other injuries are healing just fine. As long as you promise to come back for therapy, I'll let you leave tomorrow afternoon. When you're here for therapy, we'll keep up the walking exercises and start some stretching and strength exercises for your hand. Try lifting your arm and stretching your fingers as much as is comfortably possible. I don't want you to risk falling and re-injuring your ribs, so I want you to walk with a cane until you have full strength back in your legs. You need to rest when you feel tired and don't push yourself. When the weather is nice, go outside for a short walk, the fresh air and sunshine will do you good. But whenever you're outside, I want Mrs. O'Neill or someone with you at all times, just in case you fall. Is that understood?"

Jack grinned. "I can live with that."

Dr. Bennett continued. "I'll give you a prescription for pain, after therapy you may want it. You don't have to take it though unless you feel you really need it."

"Doctor, how about driving?" Sam asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Not until you have clearance from me. I want you to call my office when you get home and make an appointment to see me in two weeks. We'll see how much you've improved and then we'll discuss driving."

Jack shook the Doctor's hand. "Thanks for everything you've done."

Dr. Bennett smiled. "You're welcome. You know, you're the first patient I've had that personally knows the President of the United States."

Jack grinned. "Oh, it's no big deal."

Jack and Dr. Bennett continued to talk as Sam's cell phone rang so she went into the hall to answer it.

"Hello."

"Hey, Sam."

"Hi, Daniel."

"Just wanted to see how you and Jack are doing."

"We're okay. Dr. Bennett is with Jack right now and he's encouraged by the progress he's making. In fact, he's letting Jack go home tomorrow afternoon."

"Sam, that's great."

"You know how Jack hates hospitals and he's so eager to leave."

"Can't say that I blame him. I know this is a relief to you to know he's doing as well as he is."

"Yes, it is."

They talked a few more minutes and just as Sam came back through the door of Jack's room, Dr. Bennett was coming out and he stopped.

"Mrs. O'Neill, until I see you at my office in two weeks, take good care of him and be sure he follows my orders."

Sam smiled. "I will, I promise. Everyone here has been so nice to us. Thank you for all you've done for Jack."

"You're welcome. I'll see you later."

************

Sam drove them home and as she turned onto their street, they noticed lots of cars. As Sam pulled into the driveway there were people standing on their front lawn.

Jack glanced at Sam. "What's all this?"

"Beats me, I have no idea."

As Sam turned off the motor, Daniel and Teal'c suddenly appeared and Daniel opened the door for Jack.

"Daniel, what's going on?" he asked as Sam came around the side of the car and stood beside him.

"Your friends at the SGC wanted to do something for you, so when Sam told me yesterday that you were coming home, we hurriedly got everything together to have this surprise welcome home party."

Sam and Jack looked at their house and could see a large banner above the door. "WELCOME HOME, JACK!"

Jack slowly stood up as Sam opened the back door of the car and picked up Jack's cane and handed it to him.

Daniel suddenly threw his arms around his friend and hugged him tightly, then let go as the two men grinned at each other.

Teal'c also embraced Jack. "It is good to see you well, my friend."

Jack smiled. "Thanks, T. It's good to be home."

Jack looked at everyone as a big grin came to his face. Although he was no longer the commander of Stargate Command, many of the people he had worked with were here. George, Walter, Siler, Colonel Ferretti, Dr. Lee, Colonel Dixon, Cam, Vala, Hank, some of the nurses and a few of the people who worked with Sam in her lab.

Sam put her arm around Jack's waist as they started up the sidewalk and they greeted people as they passed them. They entered their house as everyone followed them inside.

There was food on the dining room table and in the middle of the table was a large cake.

Jack turned to face the group and everyone became quiet. "I don't know what to say, this is a total surprise. I'd like to thank all of you for your concern that was shown to me and Sam while I was in the hospital. It means more to us than you know."

Jack looked around the room. "And for this, all I can say is 'thank you' for doing this for us."

He paused for a moment. "By the way, who's minding the store?"

"I left Colonel Reynolds in charge, Jack" Hank answered as he put his hand on Jack's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "He said to tell you that he's glad to know that you're well enough to come home."

Jack glanced at the table. "Okay, what are you waiting for? There's cake to be eaten!"

Jack sat down on the sofa and Sam told him she would bring him some food. As she started to walk away, she glanced back at Jack just in time to see Vala sit down beside him and give him a big hug. Jack smiled and returned the hug.

Sam and Daniel stood at the kitchen door and watched as people sat and chatted with Jack.

"It's good to see him at home and doing so well, Sam."

Tears moistened her eyes. "I know, Daniel. We came so close to losing him."

Daniel put his arm around her shoulder.

"But we didn't, Sam. We didn't."

************

It was now early evening and everyone had left except Teal'c and Daniel.

Sam had asked them to stay awhile, so just the four of them now sat on the deck.

Jack smiled. "You two planned this did you?"

Daniel nodded his head. "Teal'c and I wanted to do something for you when you came home so we went ahead and had the banner made. When I talked with Sam yesterday morning, she confirmed that you would be coming home this afternoon so we spread the word around the base to let everyone know and hurriedly ordered the cake and the food. We all thought it would make you feel better to see your old friends and let you know how much everyone cares about you."

Sam smiled. "It was a very thoughtful thing to do."

They talked awhile longer until Jack started to yawn and looked like he was getting tired.

Daniel and Teal'c stood up. "We need to go so you can get some rest, Jack."

Sam walked them to the door and gave each a hug, then came back outside. "Need to lie down?"

"Yeah, I'm a little tired, but I'd like to take a quick shower first."

Jack grabbed his cane and Sam followed him down the hall and into the bedroom.

Sam got a pair of Jack's pajamas out of the dresser and put them in the bathroom.

"Do you need any help?"

"Just with the bandage."

Sam slowly unwrapped the bandage and he tried to straighten his fingers but they began to shake.

Sam smiled encouragingly at him. "At least you can move them. Need some help getting undressed?"

"No, I can do it."

Sam watched Jack. It was a little awkward for him to get undressed using only one hand, but she did not want to try to help and make him feel like a child. Sam knew that Jack needed to feel independent and he would not want her waiting on him hand and foot.

Jack went into the bathroom and got into the shower as Sam went to the hall closet, got a clean set of sheets and changed the bed linens.

Sitting back on the bed, she leaned against the headboard. It was so good to have Jack at home and they were finally together, although not under the best circumstances.

She happened to glance down and there was the greeting card on the nightstand, it seemed so long ago that he had sent it to her. She opened it and started to cry. She had cried so many tears since Jack had been injured. Tears that Jack might die, then tears of relief when they knew he would live.

She looked up to see Jack standing in the doorway. He had put on his pajamas and was staring at her. He slowly walked over and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

She turned around, put her feet on the floor, moved closer to Jack and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He put his arm around her, hugged her and just let her cry. After several minutes, she leaned back to look at him. "I've been so scared I was going to lose you, Jack, but now I know you're going to be okay and it's just such a relief." She started to cry again.

Tears came to Jack's eyes as he hugged her to him. "Oh, Sam. I know this has been quite an ordeal but I'm going to be okay. We've gotten through the worst part."

Jack took Sam's hand.

"You know it's kind of ironic."

"What is?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"All those times I've been injured off-world and here on Earth is where I get hurt the worst."

Sam nodded her head.

Trying to make her feel better, Jack grinned. "Well, at least we'll get to sleep together now that I'm out of the hospital."

Sam smiled. "Yes, that's true. The last time we slept together was at the cabin. Will we ever get to have a real honeymoon, Jack?"

"You betcha" he replied as he looked at his hand. "As soon as I get this thing back in working order."

************

Over the next few weeks, Jack never missed a visit with the physical therapist. The bandages were finally removed for good as Jack slowly got some of the strength back in his arm and hand.

One month after going home from the hospital, Jack returned for a visit with Dr. Bennett and x-rays were taken.

Jack and Sam sat in the Doctor's office talking quietly as they waited for him to arrive.

The Doctor soon entered and closed the door.

"Your x-rays look good, General. Physical therapy is helping."

Jack smiled. "Great."

The Doctor leaned against the edge of his desk and held out his hand to Jack.

"Squeeze my hand."

Jack reached up with his left hand and squeezed as hard as he could.

"That's good."

Jack sighed. "I was hoping it would be much better by now."

The Doctor paused for a moment.

"Let's look at it this way. You can raise your arm, you can move your fingers and, who knows, maybe all the strength will come back eventually. I've seen injuries like these before. Some people will never do as well as you're doing right now, so let's be thankful that you have as much flexibility as you do."

Jack smiled. "Okay. I guess I can live with that."

The Doctor stood up. "I really don't need to see you again unless there's a problem."

Jack and Sam stood and Jack shook Doctor Bennett's hand. "Thanks for all you've done."

Doctor Bennett smiled. "You're welcome."

They walked back to their car and got in as Sam looked at Jack. "Do you want to try the healing device?"

"Yes. I want to see if it will help."

Jack made a call to Hank at the base and asked if they could come by.

After meeting with Hank to tell him why they were there, he escorted Jack and Sam to the room that was always heavily guarded.

As the guards stepped aside and they walked through the door, it automatically locked behind them.

Sam placed her palm on top of the screen that would identify who she was, being one of the few people on the base who was allowed to get inside the next room.

As she was given clearance, they heard the lock click that would open the next door and they entered the room where alien devices were kept.

There were six compartments on the far wall. Sam knew which one held the healing device so she pressed her thumb against a scanner that would give her access to what was inside.

The door swung open to reveal the device. Glancing at Jack and Hank, she could see the look of apprehension on their faces.

Sam slowly picked it up and placed it on her hand as she took a deep breath.

Hank watched as Jack raised his arm. Sam held the device over Jack's hand and closed her eyes. After several moments a glow suddenly filled the room. Sam kept her eyes closed and concentrated as hard as she could.

The glow from the device lasted about thirty seconds before it slowly faded away.

Sam opened her eyes to see Jack staring at his hand.

Hank looked at Sam, then Jack. "Any difference, Jack?"

Jack grinned. "I can tell it definitely has more strength in it. See, I can move my fingers, stretch them out and make a fist."

Sam grinned. "That's wonderful."

Hank patted Jack's back and smiled.

************

It was a beautiful summer day at the home of General Hammond.

Teal'c stood looking out the window of one of the upstairs bedrooms as he watched people take their seats in the chairs that had been set up in the back yard. He turned to look at Daniel as he talked with Jack.

"Hold still, Jack. I'm never going to get your tie tied if you keep fidgeting."

"For cryin' out loud, Sam and I are already married. Why do we have to go through this again?"

Daniel finished with the tie. "Because you promised Sam a second wedding with her family and friends. If you remember, we didn't get to witness the first one."

Jack smiled with a far away look on his face. "Yeah, that was quite a day, especially after we got back to the cabin after the ceremony and I carried Sam to our bedroom and . . ."

Daniel held up his hands. "Too much information, Jack."

Teal'c smiled and Jack chuckled.

Daniel sighed. "Teal'c and I are really going to miss Sam now that she's taking this new job at the Pentagon. Right, Teal'c?"

"Indeed we will."

Jack put on his jacket. "Sam and I are keeping our house so we'll be back to visit and we'll come back here when I eventually retire."

They heard a knock on the door and Mark peeped around the corner.

"Hey, guys."

Jack waved with his hand. "Come on in."

"You ready for this, Jack?" Mark asked.

"Ready to get this shindig over with so I can finally give Sam the honeymoon she deserves."

"How is Samantha?" Teal'c asked.

Mark smiled. "Just as anxious as Jack to get on with it and she looks beautiful."

The men came downstairs and took their places at front. Not being able to choose between them, Jack had asked both Daniel and Teal'c to stand beside him as his best men.

The music began and Cassie walked forward.

Everyone stood and turned to watch the bride as she was escorted by her brother.

Jack's breath caught in his throat as he stared at Sam. She looked stunning in a beautiful strapless white dress with a full skirt that came just below her knees. She carried a bouquet of white roses.

As Sam walked forward her eyes did not leave Jack's, thinking how very handsome he looked.

As Sam and Mark stopped, Mark gently kissed Sam on her cheek and placed her hand in Jack's.

The minister spoke for a few moments about the sanctity of marriage. He then asked the couple to face each other and repeat their vows.

Sam handed her bouquet to Cassie.

Since they were already wearing their wedding bands, they would just repeat their vows to each other.

Jack took Sam's hands in his as memories flashed through her mind: hearing the news of the plane crash; seeing Jack for the first time in the ICU and fearing he might die; the relief she felt when she knew he would be okay; the argument they'd had in the hospital; the look of relief on Jack's face as she used the healing device to restore strength to his hand.

As she repeated the part of "in sickness and in health" it held special meaning for her and she could tell that Jack was thinking the same thing. They had already been through the harrowing experience of the crash and it had made their love and devotion for each other that much stronger. She was so happy to be here in this moment, repeating her vows to this man she loved so deeply, in front of all the people she and Jack cared about most.

As Jack looked into Sam's eyes, he realized once again how happy he was to have her as his wife and how strong his love for her was growing with each passing day.

As they finished their vows, they turned to face the minister once again and he pronounced them husband and wife. A smile came to his face as he said "Jack, you may kiss your bride."

The End


End file.
